'Should I kill them?'
With my current strength, I'm confident enough to face that many enemies, but then I suddenly thought of another idea.
'What if I use them to train Martin and the others?'
It would be a great opportunity for them. The Devourers might be strong at this moment, but they were actually the weakest type of monster in the monster wave game. Later on, more powerful monsters would appear.
'To combat those monsters, my strength won't be enough. I need powerful allies by my side.'
As someone who had played the 'The World of Chaos', I knew what had to be done to complete all the stages. One strong character wouldn't be enough to complete the game. I needed a team of powerful heroes…
Thinking about this, it didn't take long for me to make a decision.
"Mark! Let's go back!"
I turned my head when I heard Jonathan's voice. I saw his anxious face and the horror that he tried so hard to conceal. The others had already gathered behind him and it didn't look like they had the intention to fight the Devourers.
I rushed to their side while thinking how I could convince them to fight those creatures.
"Did you guys find anything?" I asked them.
"Let's talk later. We should get out of here first! Let's go!" Jonathan urgently said.
"Alright." There was still time before the second stage would begin so I decided to temporarily set aside my plan.
I could outrun them, but I chose to stay at the back of the group in case the Devourers caught up to us.
"Faster! We're almost there!" Jonathan's words spurred everyone's potential. Despite their exhaustion and mental distress, they pushed themselves further to run even faster! No one wanted to become a meal for those monsters.
In just a blink of an eye, we finally entered the safe zone.
"They are coming!" Someone shouted in fear.
The survivors screamed in panic when they saw the Devourers coming towards the safe zone.
Some had already rushed to the other side of the safe zone. If the monsters could go in, they wouldn't hesitate to leave the safe zone.
Looking at the chaotic situation, I sighed. This was a natural reaction. If I didn't have my Cold-blooded trait, perhaps I would also have the same reaction as them.
"Calm down, everyone! We now have weapons! We can fight back! If we divide ourselves here, we would have fewer people in the group! Even if you escape, do you think you guys will be safe out there?!" Jonathan yelled at the crowd.
His words had some effect. At least half of the screaming people calmed down. Only some women and children were still crying or shouting.
"They are almost here!" The police officer, Corporal Martin shouted. He tightly clutched the sword in his hands while staring nervously at the incoming monsters.
"If you want to survive, take out your weapons!" Kevin suddenly appeared beside Martin while holding a pair of axes. As for where he got the extra axe, I guessed that it was probably from one of the survivors.
Only eleven people responded to his call. They were nervous, but they all looked like they were willing to help in the fight.
Including, me, Martin, and Jonathan's group, there were a little over twenty of us. Surprisingly, the train driver was also there. I hadn't seen him since we arrived at the safe zone. He probably hid himself to avoid being blamed by the survivors. I didn't expect that he would survive.
"We are counting on you, Mark." Kevin nodded to me.
The rest of the survivors stared at me with hope. My presence alleviated most of their fears. They had seen how powerful I was so they probably thought that things would go well as long as I was there.
Unfortunately, I had other plans.
"Nope. I won't be helping you guys this time." I calmly responded while shaking my head.
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"Some of us might die if you don't help us!"
They were agitated by my response.
Even Kevin and Martin frowned when they heard my words.
"Are you thinking of training us by making us fight those monsters?" Jonathan suddenly spoke.
'Of course, this bastard would see through my plans…'
I nodded my head.
"That's right. You should have seen the message on the screen. It says that there will be a second stage in a few hours. I don't know how many stages there are. There could be twenty, fifty, or even more. If I am the only fighter in the group, I wouldn't be able to guarantee everyone's safety so you guys must learn how to fight on your own. You are free to choose whether you want to fight or not. If you think that this is unfair, you have to keep in mind that I don't have the obligation to protect you. Your safety is your own problem."
The survivors lowered their heads when they heard my words.
At this moment, the Devourers had already reached the safe zone, but as if there was an invisible barrier, they were unable to cross the tunnel.
Some of those who wanted to leave the safe zone immediately erased their thoughts of fleeing when they saw this.
"We're saved! They can't go inside the safe zone!"
"Thank god!"
The survivors were relieved by this discovery.
"What should we do, Jonathan?" Everyone immediately turned their gazes to the professor.
Jonathan didn't respond. Instead, he looked at me and said. "Did your strength increase after killing those monsters?"
His words made everyone stunned. They were too focused on survival that they had ignored my inhuman strength. Now that Jonathan had opened up the matter, they probably realized that it was possible. The appearance of the holographic screen and those monsters were already outside the realm of possibility, but they still happened. Increasing one's strength shouldn't be out of the question.
There was no need to hide it anymore so I nodded my head. "That's right. If you kill one of those monsters, you will receive some kind of reward which will be reflected on the holographic screen. I managed to increase my physical abilities after killing ten of those creatures."
"What?! There's actually such a thing!"
"If that's true, is it possible for us to become as strong as you?"
Some people showed interest in this new information. After all, who didn't want to become stronger, especially in this kind of situation?
"You guys can become as powerful as me. That's not impossible. Of course, you need to hunt those monsters if you want to become stronger."